MV Rajasekhar assumes charge as Director (R&D) of BEL

New Delhi: MV Raja Sekhar has taken charge as Director (R&D) of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a Navratna Defence PSU under the Ministry of Defence, on September 1. Prior to this elevation, he was working as chief scientist at BEL's Central Research Laboratory (CRL), Bangalore, and as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) at BEL's corporate office.

Earlier, PSU Watch had reported that Sekhar was recommended for the post of Director (R&D) of BEL by a PESB panel on February 11. He was selected for the post from a list of six candidates, who were interviewed by the selection panel.

Sekhar's profile & background

Sekhar joined BEL's Ghaziabad unit on February 1, 1985, as Probationary Engineer after completing B.Tech in electronics and communication engineering from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. In a career spanning over the last 35 years, he has worked in various capacities and gained rich experience in diverse technologies of BEL.

He was involved in the testing of communication products such as static and digital mobile tropo-scatter communication and satcom networks, radar displays and command and control systems during his tenure at BEL's Ghaziabad Unit. In the year 2000, he moved to the Hyderabad Unit and worked on the testing and commissioning of various electronic warfare systems. In 2004, he was transferred to the Machilipatnam Unit.

During his tenure at Machilipatnam Unit, Sekhar contributed to the design and development of night vision devices which have been supplied in large quantities to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Indian Army. He established a good design base for BEL in IR Optics and initiated signal processing development at CRL-Bangalore. He was instrumental in the indigenous development of state-of-the-art thermal imager-based sights and systems in association with IRDE (DRDO), which resulted in significant business growth for the company.

In May 2016, he was promoted as Chief Technology Officer (Electro-Optics & Lasers). As CTO (EO&L), he initiated many new projects in electro-optics and lasers at BEL's Product Development & Innovation Centre (PD&IC), complementing the efforts of Unit D&Es and CRL-Bangalore. He was a guiding force for the scientists of CRL-Bangalore and PD&IC for the development of Fiber Laser Technology in a strategic alliance with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI).

In June 2019, he moved to CRL-BG as Chief Scientist and led a team of around 260 scientists working on diverse technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Drones, Cyber Security, Cloud & Data Analytics, Tactical Communications, Radar Signal & Data Processing, EO&L, Smart Computing Devices, Embedded Systems, Networking Devices and Systems and Advanced Signal Processing for EW & Acoustics, before his elevation as Director (R&D).

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